Umm ʿUbays (Arabic: أُمُّ عُبَيْسٍ) or Umm ʿUmays was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Umm Ubays
أُمُّ عُبَيْسٍ‎
Personal
Born
Died
Resting placeMedina
ReligionIslam

Biography

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She was a slave in Mecca who became an early convert to Islam. After 614 she was tortured in an attempt to force her to renounce her faith.[1] Abu Bakr bought and manumitted her. It was in response to the purchase of these slaves that Abu Bakr's father protested: "I see that you are freeing weak slaves. Why don't you free powerful men who could defend you and protect you?" Abu Bakr replied, "I am only trying to do what I am attempting for God's sake."[2]

Umm Ubays had a sister, Harithah bint al-Muammil.[3]

It is sometimes asserted that Umm Ubays was the daughter of Al-Nahdiah. This is apparently due to the ambiguous wording of Ibn Saad.[4] However, Ibn Ishaq makes it clear that Umm Ubays and Al-Nahdiah's daughter were two different people, both of whom were purchased and manumitted by Abu Bakr.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir volume 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, p. 180. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  2. ^ Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Sirat Rasul Allah. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad, p. 144. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ "Zunaira, Haritha bint Al-Muammil". www.eslam.de (in German). Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  4. ^ Ibn Saad/Bewley p. 180.
  5. ^ Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 144.
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